COVID-19: AN UPDATE FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS

In these very strange times, we know that large parts of your life have had to be put on hold. Dinner parties and large family gatherings are a thing of the past, and for many of us our working lives have changed beyond all recognition. But amidst all this uncertainty, we know that your home – and specifically your kitchen – has become more important than ever.

The kitchen is the place where you and your loved ones come together to try to make sense of all this. It’s where you eat three, yes THREE meals a day (Is your dishwasher working overtime? Ours certainly is!) and it’s where you share your grumbles, your worries and your hopes for the future.

Still designing, building and fitting beautiful kitchens

As a family business designing and making custom-made kitchens, you might think we’ve had to put our operation on hold. But, in fact, the opposite is true. We have been able to continue to design, build and even fit kitchens throughout lockdown. We feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to continue doing what we love the most – creating beautiful kitchens and serving our loyal customers.

However, it isn’t ‘business as usual’ because many of our previous ways of working have had to be adapted to comply with the new hygiene and social distancing guidelines. It’s absolutely essential for us to ensure we are not putting any of our staff or customers in danger, so we have taken these new measures extremely seriously. Each machine in our factory now has its own sanitising station with anti-viral spray and wipes, and our kitchen fitters are observing strict social distancing rules and wearing gloves and masks whenever necessary.

What the design process looks like during lockdown

In terms of the design process, we thought it might to useful to guide you through the journey you can expect to go on with Intone Design during these unusual times. Here’s how we can take you safely from initial enquiry right through to the installation of your dream kitchen…

1) Contact us via phone or email and we can chat through your kitchen ideas over the phone or we can arrange to meet in person. We can give you a socially-distanced tour of our showroom in Oundle where all our different styles of cabinetry are on display. Visits are strictly by appointment only and we are restricting them to just one per day with thorough cleaning carried out before and after. We are also very happy to visit you at home if you feel comfortable with this. It’s entirely up to you.

2) We will then ask you lots of questions in order to build up an idea of the kind of kitchen that will meet all your requirements. These will include queries about the look and style of your kitchen (Pinterest boards are really useful here if we’re discussing this remotely), timescale and budget. And of course we will need all the dimensions of the space, including the position of doors and windows. Many of our customers choose colours from Little Greene or Farrow & Ball, but we can also colour match our cabinets to any shade of your choosing. Samples can be posted out to you if you’re not able to visit us in person at the showroom.

3) Once we’ve drawn up your design, we will send you a virtual 3D tour so that you can ‘walk’ through your new kitchen and check you’re happy with everything before we move onto the next stage. This is also the point at which we will give you a price. Once this has been agreed, we will proceed with making your bespoke kitchen units.

4) Next up is installation. At a time to suit you, our efficient team of fitters will come to your home to fit your new kitchen, creating the minimum possible disruption. They will wear gloves and work to strict social distancing guidelines, which is how we’ve been able to carry on installing kitchens throughout lockdown. One of our fitters also happens to share a house with a builder and a decorator. This trio have been able to work together quite happily during lockdown – becoming quite the dream team for some of our customers!

Thinking about a new kitchen? We’re here to help

With all this time stuck at home, it’s no wonder you’ve been thinking and dreaming about a new kitchen. How wonderful would it be to have an elegant space in which you could entertain friends and family again once the lockdown restrictions are lifted? Well, we’re here to help you make that happen.

We’d love to work with you to set the wheels in motion towards bringing your new kitchen to life. Give us a call or drop us an email. Whatever suits you best – we are here to help.

Quality, care & craftsmanship

With more than 30 years’ experience producing custom-made kitchens in our dedicated workshop, we can create your perfect kitchen tailored to your unique taste. All the while offering our above-and-beyond levels of customer service.